


Christmas L-O-V-E

by JoMo3



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 10:58:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13246791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMo3/pseuds/JoMo3
Summary: Eleven celebrates Christmas Eve with her friends, while Jonathan and Nancy have an uncomfortable dinner.Late Christmas fluff.





	Christmas L-O-V-E

**Author's Note:**

> This should’ve been posted more than a week ago, but between traveling and getting food poisoning (which I don’t recommend, by the way) I didn’t have the time.

Jim Hopper was growing impatient.   
The Hawkins Chief of Police was standing at his window, looking out at the white landscape. It’d been snowing in Hawkins over the past three days. It was time for him to get to work, but one little thing (or in this case, one _person_ ) was holding him up.  
He glanced to his left, and saw the young girl he’d adopted, Eleven, sitting on the couch, not a care in the world as she admired her pink and fluffy gloves.  
The reason he was impatient was because Mike Wheeler, Eleven’s boyfriend ( _God_ , he hated calling him that) was supposed to come and pick her up for the day. Well, Mike’s sister was, actually. The two Wheeler kids were supposed to come to the trailer at 7:00 to pick her up. It was now going on 7:18; Hopper had to be at work soon, and as each minute passed the thought of taking El to work with him seemed more and more appealing.  
Just as he was about to tell El she was coming with him, he saw Nancy’s green car crawl up the hill and pull to a stop in front of the trailer. He watched as she climbed out, saying something to someone in the car as she walked as quickly as she could through the snow and up the steps to the trailer door. Hopper opened it before she’d even knocked.  
“Sorry,” she said, her nose red from the cold. “It took me forever to get the snow off my car, and there was an accident at Cherry, and…”  
“It’s okay,” Hopper grumbled. Turning to El, he asked, “You ready, kid?”  
Smiling, she stood up and nodded. She gave Hopper a hug before buttoning up her jacket.  
“I’ll call when I’m on way to pick you up,” Hopper said, kissing the top of her head.  
“ ‘kay,” she said as he released her.  
“You two have fun,” he called as Nancy led Eleven out to the car.

The back door to the car opened as soon as they stepped outside, and Mike started to get out of the car.  
“What’re you doing? Get back in,” Nancy said to her brother.  
Ignoring her, Mike held the door open for El as she climbed into the backseat. Once she was in, he climbed inside and closed the door behind them.   
“Hi,” El said quietly.   
“Hey,” Mike said, just as quiet.  
Nancy climbed in and, after buckling up, she carefully turned the car around and drove back towards the Wheeler home.   
The car ride was mostly quiet; Nancy and El chatted a little. Mike stayed quiet, mainly watching the snow-covered trees outside the window, and touching El’s hand from time to time.   
Eventually they found their way to the Wheeler’s home, and the three clambered out of the car and into the warm house. Mike and Eleven headed straight to the basement, while Nancy went upstairs. It being early on a Saturday morning, the house was still quiet. Ted Wheeler dozed upstairs, and Holly wouldn’t be up for another thirty minutes or so. Karen was the only other Wheeler awake, as she began the process of making breakfast.   
Once in the basement, Mike and Eleven settled on the couch, and wound up in their favorite position: Mike sitting upright, with El’s head in his lap as she lay on her back. Mike would then proceed to do something she absolutely _loved_ -run his fingers through her curly locks.   
“Mmmm,” she hummed as she closed her eyes.   
Smiling, Mike leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Did you get Hopper’s gift?” he asked her.   
Sighing, she nodded, saying “I got him a Colts sweater.”  
“He’ll like it,” Mike said. El had spent the last week going back and forth on what gift to get her adoptive father.   
Looking up at him, she asked, “What’d you get your parents?”  
Letting out a sigh of his own, he answered “I got my dad a sweater. My mom, a bracelet.”  
“That’s nice.” Then, grinning, she asked, “What’d you get _me_?”  
“ _That_ is a secret,” he responded, ruffling her hair and making her giggle. “What’d you get me?” he asked.   
She gave him a look. “Nothing.”  
“What?” he asked in fake astonishment.   
“I didn’t get you anything,” she said, shrugging. “Sorry.”  
He gave her a sneaky smile, then tickled her belly as she giggled and pushed off his hands. He stopped, the two taking a minute to catch their breaths. Finally, Eleven asked, “Well, then, what did you get Dustin?”  
“A model rocket,” he said. “How about you? Where’s Lucas’ gift?”  
“Nancy’s room,” El answered. “I got him Legos.”  
The party of Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven had agreed to a Secret Santa exchange. Today, Christmas Eve, was to be the day of exchanging gifts.   
This would be El’s first Christmas that she got to spend with her friends, after being all alone the previous one, and not having any concept of holidays while in Hawkins Lab. Knowing that she would be spending most of tomorrow with Hopper, today was going to be the group’s Christmas with Eleven; complete with gift giving and a holiday movie.   
A little later, they heard Karen’s voice call down, letting them know breakfast was ready. The two made their way upstairs and were joined at the table by the other Wheelers-except one.   
“Where’s Nancy?” Eleven asked, noticing the empty seat.   
“She’s not eating,” Mrs. Wheeler said, cutting up Holly’s pancake. “She’s getting ready to go somewhere.”  
El’s eyes widened. “I need to go get something.” Letting go of Mike’s hand that she’d been holding under the table, she walked upstairs and gently knocked on Nancy’s door.   
“It’s open,” Nancy called.   
Eleven entered, and found Nancy sitting in front of her mirror, putting on earrings. She smiled at the young girl. “What’s up?”  
“The gifts?” Eleven asked.   
“Oh,” Nancy said. Then, pointing near her bed, she said, “Over there. You can keep them in here, until you’re ready.”  
Two wrapped gifts sat on the floor near Nancy’s bed. One was Lucas’, the other Mike’s. Nancy had taken El shopping yesterday afternoon, then the two girls had spent time wrapping them. Knowing she was coming back today, Eleven had decided to leave them here.   
“Do you think Mike will like it?” El asked Nancy as she looked at the two gifts.   
“He’s going to _love_ it, El,” Nancy assured her. “He’d love just about anything you get him.” When she saw Eleven blush, she added, “Wait till you see what he got you.”  
“What is it?” El asked, eagerly.   
“I can’t tell you,” Nancy answered with a grin. “Just trust me, you’re going to love it.”  
Eleven nodded. Walking to the door, she paused, and asked “Where are you going?”  
Finished with her earrings, Nancy said “Jonathan and I are going into the city. We’re going to see his father.”

A few miles and minutes away, Jonathan and Will Byers were on their way to the Wheelers. The car was a lot quieter than it usually was, as both the radio and the conversation were turned off. Will knew why his older brother was quiet, and had tried to leave him alone; but the silence was killing him.   
“You don’t have to see him,” Will finally said.  
Jonathan sighed, shaking his head. “It’s too late, now.”  
Today Jonathan was driving Nancy to Indianapolis to officially meet Lonnie Byers. It’d been almost a year since Lonnie had talked to his children; since Will was revealed to be alive, Lonnie had been making attempts to reconnect with his boys. Jonathan, of course, wanted nothing to do with him. Will didn’t either, but he was more forgiving than his brother, and had reluctantly gone with his father to a minor league baseball game. The only high point of the excursion was Lonnie agreeing to stop by The Palace on the way back.   
Now, months later, after a few attempts by Lonnie, and Will shrugging and saying “he wasn’t too bad,” here they were. Nancy had suggested that maybe Lonnie had changed, and should be given a chance, to which Jonathan had reluctantly agreed.   
“Are you nervous?” Will asked.  
“No,” Jonathan answered. “I just...I don’t know. Wondering how many minutes it’ll take until he says something stupid.”  
Will chuckled. “Shouldn’t take too long. Wanna bet?”  
Jonathan grinned as they stopped at a light. “Sure.”  
“Ten bucks say he can’t make it an hour.”  
Jonathan shook Will’s hand. “Deal.”

A bit later at the Wheelers, Mike and Eleven were washing and drying dishes when the Byers boys arrived. They quickly finished, and the three kids scurried into the basement. Nancy came downstairs, two gifts under her arm.   
“Hey,” Jonathan said, taking one of the gifts and kissing her cheek.  
“Hey yourself,” she said.  
“Who’re these for?” he asked, looking at the gift in his hands.   
“Well, _that_ one is for your dad,” she said, walking into the kitchen as Jonathan followed her. “And this one is for you.” Arriving in the kitchen, she picked up her coat from the back of a chair and proceeded to put it on.  
Jonathan looked at the box he was holding again. “You got my dad a gift?”  
“It’s nothing big,” she explained, “It’s a bottle of sparkling cider my mom bought. Barely cost anything.” Buttoning up her coat, she asked, “Ready?”  
Jonathan sighed, looking at the gift again. “I guess.”  
On their way out, he asked, “So what’d you get me?”

A little after Nancy and Jonathan left, both Lucas and Dustin arrived, gifts in tow. After Eleven went up and got one of the gifts from Nancy’s room, the five kids sat in a circle in front of the basement fort to exchange gifts.  
“So who goes first?” Lucas asked.   
“I will,” El volunteered, handing her gift to Lucas. “Merry Christmas.”  
He smiled as he took it. Pulling out the gift he’d bought, he handed it to Mike. “Merry Christmas, man.”  
“Thanks,” Mike said. “Here,” he said, handing Dustin a box.  
“Cool,” Dustin said, looking over the box. Then, realizing the others were waiting, he said, “Oh yeah! Here you go, Will.” He handed a gift to his friend.   
“Thanks,” Will said. Then, pulling a gift from behind him, said “Merry first Christmas, Eleven.”  
Eleven smiled as she took her gift. “Thank you.”  
The group sat there, looking at their boxes, until Dustin said, “Well? What’re we waiting for, let’s open them!”  
The group happily ripped off the paper around their presents and finally got a look at their gifts. Dustin beamed when he saw his rocket; Mike’s comic book from Lucas made his day; Lucas pumped his fist when he saw his Lego’s; Will had a huge grin when he unraveled the sketch pad and colored pencils from Dustin; and Eleven felt warm as she unwrapped her pink sweater from Will.  
“I wasn’t sure what to get you,” Will admitted, shrugging his shoulders.  
“I love it,” she said, leaning over and hugging him.   
“If you love that,” Dustin began, “Wait’ll you see what Mike…”  
Mike punched him on his knee, shutting him up. “What do you guys want to do next?” he asked.   
“Cookies!” Dustin yelled, rubbing his knee.   
“Cookies?” Eleven asked, confused.  
“ _Christmas_ cookies,” Mike clarified, gathering the paper from the gifts.  
“Aren’t we a little too old for that?” Lucas asked, standing up.   
“Says the guy that asked for Lego’s,” Will joked.   
“Hey,” Lucas said, “You’re never too old for Lego’s.”  
“And you’re never too old for cookies,” Dustin said.  
The last few years the boys had helped Mrs. Wheeler bake cookies for the Wheeler Christmas party. “Help” being a bit of a stretch, as they mostly just decorated with frosting. But now, a year older, some (mainly Mike and Lucas) felt they were too mature to do so.  
“My mom’s gonna have Holly help,” Mike said. “We can do something else.”  
“It’s El’s first Christmas,” Will said. “I thought we were going to introduce her to all of the traditions.”  
Mike had thrown the paper away and made his way back to his friends. Eleven looked eager at the idea of baking cookies. Sighing, Mike nodded, and agreed. “Let’s go see if Mom needs help.”  
Dustin let out a whoop, and looked at Eleven. “Come on,” he told her. “If you’re quick, you can take a cookie when she’s not looking.”  
“Dustin!” Mike called, but the curly haired boy was already leading El up the stairs.

Jonathan and Nancy spent the drive talking about gifts they’d bought their parents and siblings, and possible plans for New Years. Jonathan also took time to school Nancy on _real_ music. Before they knew it, they had arrived at Lonnie’s house.   
“That’s it?” Nancy asked, looking over the house.   
“Yep,” Jonathan said, putting the car in park. He sighed.   
“Hey.”  
“Yeah?”  
“You’ve got this.”  
Sighing again, he nodded. She got Lonnie’s gift from the backseat, and the two got out of the car.   
They knocked on the front door and, after a moment, it was opened by Lonnie himself.   
“Hey,” he said, grabbing Jonathan and pulling him in for a bear hug. Jonathan begrudgingly went along with it, while Nancy quietly stood behind him.  
“Jesus, Lonnie, close the door before you freeze us all,” came a woman’s voice from the kitchen. Nancy watched as a woman entered the room and took in the two. Lonnie let go of his son and, after Nancy stepped inside, pushed the door closed.   
“Um, dad, this is Nancy, my girlfriend,”Jonathan said, gesturing towards her.   
“Hi,” she said.   
Lonnie nodded, and shook her hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”  
Nancy held up the wrapped bottle. “I brought some sparkling cider.”  
Taking it, Lonnie nodded. “Thanks. Let me crack this open, we’re just about ready to eat. Oh,” he said, noticing the other woman in the room. “Cynthia, you remember Jonathan, right? This is Nancy, his…”  
“I’ve got ears,” she said, stepping forward and shaking Nancy’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”  
“You too,” Nancy said with a smile.  
“Let me take your coats,” Cynthia said. The two Hawkins teens shrugged off their coats, and watched as Lonnie went to the kitchen and Cynthia went to find hangers.   
“That wasn’t so bad,” Nancy whispered.   
“It’s only been five minutes,” Jonathan reminded her.

Soon after, the four of them sat around the dinner table to eat.   
“So how’d you two meet?” Cynthia asked.  
“Our brothers are friends,” Nancy answered.   
“Yeah, we’ve known each other for years,” Jonathan added.  
They ate quietly for a few minutes, until Cynthia asked, “Are you still in high school?”  
“We’re juniors,” Jonathan said.   
“You know where you want to go to school?” Lonnie asked Nancy.   
“Um, not yet,” she replied. “To be honest, I haven’t been looking at schools as much as I should. Part of me figures I’ll just end up going to Indiana.”  
Lonnie shrugged. “It’d be close to home. And it wouldn’t be too far from Jonathan, at, uh….Ohio State, right?” Jonathan gave him a look.   
“Isn’t that where you’ve always wanted to go? Ohio State?”  
“Why would I….no, NYU,” Jonathan corrected.  
“Oh. Whoops,” Lonnie said, taking a sip of the cider.

Back at the Wheelers’ the cookies had been baked and decorated. The group and Holly now sat around the television in the family room, as they watched _How the Grinch Stole Christmas._  
Lucas and Will sat with their backs against the couch; Dustin had commandeered the Lay-Z Boy, as well as a small portion of the cookies they’d helped with. Mike and Eleven were, as always, cuddled on the couch. The two lay under a blanket on one arm of the couch, Mike’s arm around El as she lay her head on his shoulder. Holly sat at the other arm, totally engrossed in the movie.  
“Bad,” Holly said, pointing to the screen as the Grinch came on.   
“Yeah, Holly, we know,” Mike said. Then, softer, he whispered to El, “How’re you liking Christmas so far?”  
She smiled up at him. “I like it. We made a _lot_ of cookies.”  
“Yeah, my mom usually doesn’t make _that_ much,” he said with a shrug.   
“When can I give you your gift?” she asked.   
“Ummm...after the movie, maybe? When the guys leave?”  
She nodded her head, then reached to the coffee table and took a cookie from the plate they’d brought in.   
“Bad,” Holly repeated at the screen.   
“We know,” Lucas and Dustin said in unison.

At Lonnie’s, the group was halfway through their meal when Jonathan finally lost patience with his father.   
The conversation had gone from college to news in Hawkins to Will.   
“How is he?” Cynthia asked.   
“He’s better,” Jonathan said. “Mom’s doing the best she can.”  
Lonnie had snorted.   
“What?” Jonathan asked.   
“Nothing. Joyce just needs to get out of that town,” he said.   
“Yeah, well, I think she’s doing just fine,” Jonathan said.   
“If you say so.”  
They ate quietly for a few minutes, until something on Cynthia’s hand caught Nancy’s eye.   
“You’re engaged?” Nancy asked.   
Cynthia blushed. “Yes. We weren’t sure if we were going to tell you, but…” she stuck her hand out for Nancy to see the ring.   
“It’s nice,” Nancy admitted.   
“Yep,” Lonnie said, beaming. “We still gotta set a date, but we’re finally gonna have a real family, you know? I figure we might…”  
“Real family?” Jonathan asked.   
“What?”  
“A real family? So, what, Will and mom and I were, just, what, a practice one?”  
“Jonathan, come on, you know that’s not what I meant…”  
“I don’t know that!” Jonathan stood up. “The only reason I’m even here is because Will disappeared and when he came back you realized what a shitty father you’ve been.”  
“Jonathan…”  
“If nothing had happened to him, we probably would never have seen you again, would we?”  
Lonnie shook his head. “You sound just like your mother.”  
“You act like that’s a bad thing,” Jonathan said. “At least she loves us. You don’t even...do you even love her?” he asked, looking at Cynthia, who watched, wide-eyed. “All you care about is you. That’s why I’ll never be like you. I care about Nancy, I love her, but I don’t try to control her like you do.” Jonathan shook his head. “I’m out of here.”  
There was a silence as Jonathan stormed out of the room and slammed the door as he left the house. Nancy wiped at her mouth with her napkin. “Well,” she said, “Thanks for dinner.”

She found Jonathan outside in the car.   
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”  
She nodded, her mind somewhere else, thinking about something he’d said a few minutes ago.  
“I just don’t want to end up like him,” Jonathan said.   
“You’re _not_ ,” she said.   
Jonathan nodded, and looked at his lap.   
“So…” Nancy said with a smile, “You love me?”  
“Huh?” he asked, looking up.   
“Inside, when you were yelling at your dad, you said that you loved me.”  
His cheeks turned pink, and he looked away. “Uh, yeah. I did.” Sighing, he turned towards her. “Look, I didn’t…”  
Her smile waned. “...mean it?”  
“No, no, I _meant_ it, I just...didn’t want to say it like that. But…”  
“You do love me?” she asked, her smile returning.   
He nodded. “I love you, Nancy Wheeler.”  
“And I love you, Jonathan Byers.”  
They leaned closer, and met in the middle with a kiss.  
After pulling away, Jonathan looked back at the house. “Should we go back?”  
“Nah,” Nancy said, shaking her head. “Let’s just go.”  
He chuckled. “I’m going to owe Will ten dollars.”  
“Why?”  
“He bet me I wouldn’t last an hour.”  
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”  
He nodded, and started to put the car in drive.  
“But first,” she said, grabbing the other gift from the backseat. “Merry Christmas.”  
He looked hesitantly at it. “Nancy, your gift is still at home, I…”  
“I know,” she interrupted. “You look like you could use a pick me up.”  
He pulled the paper off, and smiled at his gift. “Slaughter-House Five?”  
“First edition,” she commented.  
He leaned over and the two shared another kiss. “Ready?” he asked.   
“Ready.”  
Putting the car in drive, they began the ride back home.

When Jonathan and Nancy arrived at the Wheeler home, the Grinch movie had ended, and the teens lay in various stages of rest in the family room. Jonathan woke them up, and ushered Will into his car, as well as Dustin and Lucas, to drop them off at home. Before they left, of course, there were goodbye hugs to Eleven, and Jonathan gave Nancy a goodbye kiss.  
During the goodbyes, the phone rang, with Chief Hopper informing Karen that he would be there soon to pick up El.   
Once their friends had left, Mike took El’s hand and excitedly began heading towards the basement.   
“Wait,” she said, stopping him.  
“What?” he asked, confused.   
“Your present...is upstairs.”  
“Oh. Okay,” he said, letting go of her hand. “Meet you downstairs in two minutes?”  
She nodded, and they both went their separate ways.   
Two minutes later, Eleven went down the stairs and found her boyfriend nervously pacing by the game table. Stopping when he saw her, they both said “Do you want to go first?” at the same time, which made them giggle.   
“You go,” he said.   
Smiling, she handed him his gift. Ripping off the paper, he smiled when he saw what was inside: a framed photograph of the two of them taken in the fall. On the bottom of the frame, the word “Promise” was engraved.   
“El, it’s...it’s awesome, thanks.” He wrapped her in a hug, then gave her a kiss.   
“You like it?” she asked.   
“I love it.” He set it on the small table next to the couch, then picked up a small wrapped gift that was hidden next to the couch. “Here’s, uh...here’s yours.”  
Smiling, she took it and pulled off the paper, revealing a thin, black box.   
“Open it,” Mike said.   
She pulled back the lid and glanced at what was inside: a silver necklace with a faux-diamond E. El’s eyes widened as she looked at it.   
“I saved up for it,” Mike admitted. “Since, like, summer. And even then, Nancy had to help me pay for it.” He chuckled. “Do you like it? I was…”  
She jumped from the couch and kissed him so hard he thought he would topple over. He smiled into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her. When they finally pulled apart, she rested her forehead on his. “Thank you,” she said quietly.   
“You’re welcome,” he said back just as quiet. “Do you want me to put it on?”  
She nodded, and they unlatched. She turned around and pulled her curly hair up. It took Mike a few tries with the clasp, but he eventually got it clicked and around her neck. Finished, she turned towards him. “Pretty?”  
Beaming, he responded with, “Beautiful.”

Outside, Hopper pulled his Jeep into the Wheeler driveway and tapped the horn, twice, his signal letting El know it was time to go. It’d been a mostly uneventful day; there was a heated argument at a Christmas tree farm with two people who’d waited until the last minute. Besides that, nothing new or unusual. Still, he was tired, and couldn’t wait to get home and plop on the couch.   
He was hoping El had gotten all the Christmas-ing out of her system for the day. The past few days had been full of questions about the holiday, deciding what presents to get people, and holiday-themed television shows. Her gifts were wrapped, and he’d picked up Joyce’s gift for her, which currently lay under a quilt in the backseat.   
He saw the front door open, and Eleven came walking out, bundled and her steps slow in the snow. She had made it halfway to his truck when the front door opened again, and Mike Wheeler came rushing out, unzipped coat flapping behind him as he called out to her.  
She stopped and turned, and Mike took that moment to zip up his coat. When he caught up to her, Hopper saw that Mike was carrying something wrapped in tin foil. He said something to her, then handed it to her. She said something back, then she moved forward and pressed her lips to his. Hopper looked away, pretending he hadn’t seen, and a moment later the Jeep’s door opened as she climbed in.  
“Hey, kid,” he said, moving his hat so she could sit.   
She smiled up at him. “Hi.”  
“Get anything good?”  
Unzipping her coat some, she first showed him the pink sweater she had bundled against her chest.  
“Very cool,” Hopper said.   
Then, she held her neck back as she showed off her necklace. Hopper didn’t have to guess who _that_ came from.   
“Nice,” he said.   
“Mike’s mom gave us these,” she said, holding up the tin foiled parcel. “Christmas cookies. Want one?”  
“Don’t mind if I do,” Hopper said as El pulled back the paper. Grabbing one, he popped it into his mouth. “Not too bad. So, you have a good time?”  
She took a cookie for herself before nodding. “A very good time.”  
“Glad to hear it,” Hopper said, ruffling her hair before grabbing one more cookie. Putting the Jeep in reverse, he backed out of the driveway and they were headed home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are awesome if you like to leave them.


End file.
